Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Stock Price Down 0.1% – Should You Sell?

Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) fell 0.1% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $973.08 and last traded at $981.10. 402,673 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 79% from the average session volume of 1,925,866 shares. The stock had previously closed at $982.08.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on COST. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,050.00 to $1,145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $909.00 to $935.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,019.00 to $1,020.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $876.00 to $995.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $997.75.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 1.0 %

The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The firm has a market cap of $423.05 billion, a PE ratio of 56.07, a PEG ratio of 6.02 and a beta of 0.82. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $933.40 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $889.21.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.05 by $0.10. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 33.19% and a net margin of 2.93%. The business had revenue of $79.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $79.91 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $4.86 earnings per share. Costco Wholesale’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 1st were issued a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 1st. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.25%.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 1,416 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $894.68, for a total value of $1,266,866.88. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 27,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,514,232. The trade was a 4.91 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 4,400 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $891.15, for a total transaction of $3,921,060.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 10,202 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,091,512.30. The trade was a 30.13 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 11,016 shares of company stock valued at $9,826,115 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Costco Wholesale

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the third quarter valued at $29,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 557.1% in the 2nd quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. now owns 46 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale in the second quarter worth about $50,000. Fairway Wealth LLC increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 230.0% during the second quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 66 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $56,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the third quarter worth approximately $58,000. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Company Profile

Costco Wholesale Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the operation of membership warehouses in the United States, Puerto Rico, Canada, Mexico, Japan, the United Kingdom, Korea, Australia, Taiwan, China, Spain, France, Iceland, New Zealand, and Sweden. The company offers branded and private-label products in a range of merchandise categories.